The present invention relates generally to spindle housings. More particularly, this invention relates generally to forged aluminum spindle housings that can be used in transmitting power to a lawn mower blade or other device. However, the present invention is not believed to be limited to only aluminum spindle housings, nor to lawn mower apparatus.
Spindles and spindle housings have been used in various applications to convey rotary motion. In the lawn mower art, these parts have been used to transmit power from an engine to a lawn mower blade. Historically, spindle housings are formed using a “die cast” process followed by secondary machining to make the finished parts. The die cast manufacturing processes used to manufacture spindle housings can be problematic, however, because the secondary machining can open up porosity in the casting which results in weak areas, warranty issues, and potentially safety issues. Also, secondary machining results in a volume of metal chips and machined debris, which can be challenging to deal with and difficult to recycle.